NASA Announces The First Flight of Its Biggest Rocket Since the 1970s

NASA hasn't had a super heavy lift launch vehicle since the Saturn V was retired shortly after Skylab in 1973. But today, the agency announced the first flight of the Space Launch System in 2018. The rocket, which will be uncrewed for that launch, will carry 13 CubeSats to accomplish various recon missions in cis-lunar space and slightly beyond.

The Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) will carry four small satellites to the moon, looking for water ice, hydrogen, and other surface details on our nearest space neighbor. Another CubeSat, the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, will keep an eye on near-Earth asteroids, determining their position. Another CubeSat will try to keep yeast cultures alive in deep space. Three yet-undecided sats will come out of the Cube Quest Challenge, with another three going to international partners.

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The launch will see the SLS and its payload enter an orbit just past the moon, where it will then deploy the various CubeSats. They will be released from an Orion capsule in the first deep space test of that vehicle. Subsequent SLS missions will involve crews, although the idea has been floated to use it for a Europa mission in 2022. Potential targets for crewed missions include lunar orbit, capturing an asteroid, and making the first human trip to Mars.